I woke to my alarm and felt sunlight filtering through the curtains onto my face. I felt... unusually fresh for a morning.
Yuri was coming over today—her parents were both at work. The game console was set up, snacks lined the table, just like they had been for days on end.
Yeah... I was stuck in a loop.
Not a game loop. Not a music loop. The exact same day, over and over.
At first, I thought it was a dream. But by the third time, I started to remember everything. No matter what I did—once I fell asleep, the day would start over.
I tried everything. Didn't play games. Didn't answer the door. Even told Yuri to go home.
She stood outside my house, tears trailing down her cheeks. "Rin... please open the door..." Her voice trembled. I felt like the worst person alive.
But even after I apologized and tried to set things right... morning came again, unchanged.
—
Loop #7: I took her to a park we'd never visited. She seemed surprised—maybe even happy. But evening fell—and the day started over.
Loop #8: I teased her, said things I'd never had the courage to say. She blushed and fell silent. Then—
Thump... thump... thump...
The world froze, everything faded—and reset.
"Could it all be because of her?" I muttered the next morning.
—
I sat alone in the living room, staring at an old photo from my tenth birthday party. Then it clicked. Five years ago—on this very day, before time began looping—Yuri had stayed over. It was her birthday.
Right. I'd never given her a gift. Not even a "happy birthday."
In this loop she smiled, but something felt missing—like part of her was still stuck.
"...Is that why the loop won't end?" I wondered.
—
This time, I made a simple, sincere plan. I bought a small gift, wrapped it in blue, cat-patterned paper, and wrote her a card by hand. My hand trembled, but I finished it:
"Happy Birthday, Yuri."
When she opened it, I watched quietly. Her eyes widened ever so slightly, then she smiled.
"How do you know?" she asked, surprise and joy in her voice.
I smiled back. "...Something like that."
She laughed... and time didn't start over.
—
That night, we sat on the couch sharing snacks. The air felt different—like the world had finally moved forward.
"No wonder you always looked a little annoyed," I muttered.
"Hm?" she looked up.
"Nothing," I said, laughing awkwardly as I popped a snack into my mouth.
Then she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Thank you, Rin."
My heart pounded. And all I could do was hope that tomorrow... would finally stay the same.
